


Carry on My Brother

by MicoJKen



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Castiel is Protective of Dean Winchester, Castiel is a Winchester (Supernatural), Dean Winchester is Protective of Castiel, Dean Winchester is Sam Winchester's Parent, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Season 1, Unrequited Love, cas has a crush, slight destiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:26:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25705081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MicoJKen/pseuds/MicoJKen
Summary: Sam swore of hunting that night years ago. He went to college and had a promising future. However, the night his brothers showed up asking for his help to find their father changed everything. If Cas and Dean had known what this would set in motion, they may have never have dragged him back into the life. But now, now they had work to do.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	Carry on My Brother

**Author's Note:**

> Fourth test in the rewrite project. I am a huge fan of Supernatural and have always wondered what it would have been like if Cas had Anna's storyline and was raised with the boys as a hunter. So here is a sneak into what I think would happen.  
> I own nothing. Eric Kripke is the master mind behind the perfect story that is Supernatural. All hail his work.  
> Now please enjoy.

“So this is where Constance took the swan dive.” Dean said looking over the railing into the river.  
They had managed to track down the case their father was working, and after checking a crime scene, talking to the local cops and the latest victim’s girlfriend they managed to find a woman who committed suicide by the name of Constance Welch after he children drowned in the bathtub.  
“So what now?” Sam wondered.  
“We start looking for clues.” Cas told him walking a little past the brothers.  
“Basically keep digging till we find dad, it may take a while.” Dean huffed following Cas.  
“Dean, I told you-”  
“The interview, yeah right.” Dean murmured looking back at his brother.  
“Sam, we’ll get you there, just bear with us for a moment.” Cas implored.  
“You’re serious about this aren’t you?” Dean demanded, offhandedly. “You think you're just gonna become some big shot lawyer, marry your girl?”  
“Dean.” Cas warned.  
“Maybe, why not?” Sam affirmed tensely.  
“Huh, does Jessica know about what you did, before you ran off?”  
“No, and she is never going to know.”  
“Oh, that’s healthy.”  
“Dean, stop.” Cas insisted. “Sam has a right-”  
“You know you can try to run away all you want but sooner or later you’re gonna have to face up to who you really are.” Dean told him heading further up the bridge planks.  
“And who’s that?” Sam demanded.  
“One of us.”  
“No, I’m not like you.” Sam urged.  
“Sam, stop.” Cas called trying to keep the younger from following the older. “Dean, drop it. Now.”  
“This is not going to be my life.” Sam continued.  
“You have a responsibility-” Dean was cut off, however.  
“To dad, and his crusade?” Sam asked incredulously. “You know if it weren’t for pictures, I wouldn’t even know what mom looks like. And what difference does it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, moms’ gone. And she isn’t coming back.”  
Before Cas could intercept, Dean lunged grabbing his younger brother by the front of his jacket and shoving him against the bridge's support.  
“Dean, let him go.” Cas cried trying to get between and managing to pull Dean off Sam. “Dean, back off."  
Dean glared at his brother while Cas held him back with a firm hand to his chest.  
“Don’t talk about her like that.” Dean gritted out before brushing Cas’s hand away and turning away from both of them.  
“Sam?” Cas asked.  
Sam could only nod.  
“Guys.” Dean called getting them to follow his gaze.  
It was her, Constance Welch.  
She looked at them, making sure they saw her before falling forward into the river. The boys jumped into action rushing to the rail, maybe to pull her back up or just to see where she fell. But when they got to the railing there was no sign that she’d even jumped.  
“Where’d she go?” Dean asked.  
“I don’t know.” Sam said.  
They all jumped as the impala roared to life.  
“What the hell?” Dean wondered aloud.  
“Dean, don’t you have the keys?” Cas asked, backing up a step and taking the boys with him.  
Deftly Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket which seemed to be the cue the car was waiting for. With a squeal of the tires, the car came charging for them forcing the boys to bolt. Reacting completely on instinct they jumped. 

Cas grunted as he held onto the bar he managed to grab desperately in his fall.  
"Sam! Dean!" he called trying to see through the dark shadow cast by the bridge.  
Gritting his teeth he tried to pull himself up, but the cold and condensation from the river were not helping.  
His grip was slipping.  
He huffed looking all around trying to spot the brothers and only finding Sam as he climbed back onto the bridge.  
“Cas, take my hand.” Sam called leaning down and reaching out for the man.  
“Did you see Dean?” Cas asked breathlessly as he gripped Sam’s humongous hand and used it to climb back up.  
“No.” Sam gritted.  
Finally, back up on the bridge, the boys looked out to the river, frantically.  
“Dean!” Cas called.  
“DEAN!” Sam exclaimed.  
“What?” Dean called back as he pulled himself onto the rocky shore.  
“Oh thank god.” Cas sighed and deflated.  
“You alright?” Sam asked as his brother rolled onto his back.  
Dean groaned giving them the thumbs up.  
“I’m super.”  
Laughing Sam joined Cas as they rushed down to check on Dean.  
“How’s your head?” Cas asked, trying to see past all the grime and muck looking for blood.  
“Fine, Cas I’m fine. Don’t mother hen me.” Dean groaned, all though he let Cas help him to his feet.  
“I’m not mother hen-ing.” Cas huffed. “I’m just concerned.”  
“Well thank you, nurse Novak, but I’m fine.” Dean snorted.  
Rolling his eyes, Cas turned back and marched up the path back to the car.  
“I think you hurt his feelings.” Sam told his brother as they followed.  
“He’s fine.” Dean grimaced. “He just likes the way his trench coat flaps when he sulks.”  
Sam looked between the two of them, a small smile spreading across his face. It was a chore to watch these two go at it like this for so long. He doubted it would be resolved anytime soon.  
“The car seems fine.” Cas called as he shut the hood.  
“So that bitch didn’t hurt mah baby?” Dean asked.  
“The car is fine.” Cas repeated.  
“She really doesn’t want us poking around.” Sam huffed leaning against the car with the other two. “So where does the trail go from here, genius.”  
“Well hopefully if we can find more clues about your dad we can find out what we’re dealing with.” Cas told him.  
“Sounds about right.” Sam sighed, before wrinkling his nose. “Dean,”  
“What?”  
“You smell like a toilet.”  
Cas tried to cover up his laugh with a cough as Dean glared at him.

“You two keep watch.” Sam told them as he leaned down with his kit.  
Dean nodded to Cas who faced Dean looking over his shoulder as Dean did the same with him. This way it looked like they were talking to each other and effectively hiding Sam while he broke in.  
They had just tried to check into a room when the man at the front desk let them know that one of John’s aliases was used. So they found the room and were now attempting to break in.  
They heard the click of the lock, but still kept watch. That is until Sam grabbed Dean’s collar and instinctively Dean grabbed Cas’s dragging them both into the room unceremoniously. What greeted them was not surprising considering who they were following, but still concerning.  
The room was wall to wall supernatural paraphernalia. Crystals, salt, cats-eyes shells, and dozens of other protection sigils and talismans.  
“Whoa.” Dean breathed heading for the nightstand where a half-eaten burger sat, giving it a sniff. “Ugh, I don’t think he’s been here for a couple of days or so.”  
“Salt circle, cats-eyes shells.” Sam murmured thoughtfully. “He was worried, trying to keep something from coming in.”  
“I’ve got some onyx and obsidian by the window, enforced with amethyst,” Cas told them. “Whatever was after him scared the hell out of him.”  
Then he noticed Dean looking at the wall.  
“What is it?” he asked.  
“Missing Centennial highway victims.” Dean told him. “I don’t get it. I mean they’re different ages, ethnicities, so what's the connection? I mean that's how this always goes. The victims are connected in some way or another. So what do these guys have in common?”  
“Looks like dad, figured it out.” Sam told them, looking at another wall with possible suspects taped to it. “Constance Welch, she’s a woman in white.”  
“You sly dogs.” Dean snorted looking back to the victims. “Alright, so that means that she’s just an amped-up spirit. Which means we gotta find the bones to burn.”  
“She may have another weakness.” Sam said thoughtfully.  
“If she’s a woman in white then she does.” Cas said. “I read about it in some of the tombs in the bunker's library.”  
"The bunker?" Sam looked between the two. "You guys still believe in that legacy crap."  
"Doesn't matter if it's real or not." Dean shrugged. "Dad said the Men of Letter bunker was ours and we still use it. And by adopting Cas it became his too. Besides, it's the closest thing to a home we've ever had."  
"And after Bobby moved in, it has helped a lot of hunters with the job." Cas told him. "The knowledge there is infinitely precious and with us adding to it it's only becoming better. It's a heaven for our people."  
Sam resisted the urge to shake his head.  
The Men of Letters was this secret society that documented all things supernatural and aided hunters maintaining order. Their grandfather and those before him were part of this society but he vanished before he could fully induct John into the ranks. John resented his father for disappearing and with his mother's aid avoided the MoL. Soon enough they died out. Then Marry was killed by something obviously supernatural and John knew it. So he grabbed the boys and used the bunker key his father gave him. They stayed there for a while so he could research then they were out on the road hunting. Whenever John thought it was too dangerous to bring the boys he'd leave them there and eventually, after John and Bobby saved Cas from a beast that had killed his parents when he was ten, he was brought there too along with Bobby. Sometimes the three boys would go with John, other times they would stay at the bunker with Bobby. That bunker was a prison to Sam. A place full of the things that made him different. Made him a freak. He hated it. But he never said it to his brothers, it was their home. But it wasn't his.  
“What is it?” Sam asked, back in the present.  
“I don’t remember.” Cas shook his head before straightening his jacket. “I’ll consult my journals, maybe give Bobby a call.”  
“That’ll help. But if I were dad, I’d go see the husband, find out where she was buried.” Sam nodded, poking the image of Mr. Welch.  
“Okay, you get to work on that and I’m gonna get cleaned up.” Dean told them.  
“Hey Dean,” Sam called. “About before, what I said about mom and dad, I didn’t mean-”  
Dean held up his hand at this.  
“No chick flick moments.”  
“Alright.” Sam snorted. “Jerk.”  
“Bitch.” Dean countered.  
“Assbutts.” Cas said to them both, shaking his head.

Cas sipped at his coffee as he poured over his notes. After they figured out their game plan, Cas headed for the cafe to feed his caffeine addiction. He was sitting by the table so as not to be disturbed. Though the voices didn’t help.  
Dean was the only one who knew about them. He was there when Cas had his first episode. He was ten, and reading in the study when they suddenly just started shouting in his head.  
“I don’t understand.” Cas whimpered, crouched in a corner, holding his head in pain. “Please, stop. I don’t understand.”  
“Cas?” Dean called, kneeling in front of him.  
“I don’t understand.” Cas whined.  
“Cas, look at me. What’s going on?”  
“They won’t stop!” Cas sobbed. “They’re so loud.”  
“Who is?”  
“I don’t know...”  
“Okay, Cas, look at me.” Dean urged the boy, pulling his hands from his raven locks. “Focus on me.”  
Cas did so with watery eyes, blue sky meeting green fields. Dean made sure he had Cas’s complete attention before he started humming ‘Hey Jude’. Cas didn’t get it at first, but after some prompting from Dean he started to hum with him. The voices didn’t go away, they never really do. But the humming helped. Helped tune them out so he could focus enough.  
“What was that?” Dean asked after getting Cas to calm down.  
“I don’t know.” Cas shook his head severely. “They just started shouting. I couldn’t understand them.”  
“Who were they? Were they ghosts or something?”  
“I don’t know.”  
“We’ll figure this out.” he promised looking over his shoulder to the rest of the room. “For now, let's keep it to ourselves. I don’t want to know what dad would do if he knew about this.”  
Cas nodded and let Dean help him up.  
Dean watched him after that. Made sure to check his mental state. When he noticed that things got to be a bit much he would take Cas away and help him through it.  
“They won’t stop!” Cas whimpered into Dean’s chest one night. “I can’t understand them. Please make them stop.”  
“It's okay Cas.” Dean hummed, rubbing their shoulder. “Just hum the song.”  
“Make them stop! Please!”  
They would have a couple of nights like this all through Cas’s teen years. But as he got older, he relied on Dean a lot less and started taking care of it himself. John and Sam still had no idea that he went through this and he wanted to keep it that way.  
“Just shut up.” he groaned now, as the voices spiked in volume. “Please stop.”  
His phone shocked him out of his thoughts.  
“Deans’ been what?” Cas hissed. “How did the cops catch onto us so quickly? No, wait, Sam, where are you?”  
“I was hiding until they left. I’m heading to you now.” Sam told him. “We need to solve this case and get Dean out quickly.”  
“Meaning we need to talk to Mr. Welch.” Cas sighed, gathering his journals. “Come get me. I know how to stop her.” 

“Dad’s not here, he left Jerico.” Dean told them after escaping the precinct- thanks to the boy's bogus 911 call.  
“What, how do you know?” Sam asked.  
“I got his journal.”  
“He doesn’t go anywhere without that thing.” Cas jumped in. “Did it yield any clues as to where he went.”  
“The same old ex-marine crap when he wants to let us know where he is.”  
“Coordinates.” Sam hummed.  
“Yep.” Dean popped.  
“Dean, what is going on?”  
“Sam, look out!” Cas cried, as a woman suddenly appeared in front of them.  
Sam slammed on the breaks sending Cas forward, smacking his head into the dash and knocking him out.  
“Take me home.” the woman demanded in the back seat. “Take. Me. Home.”  
“No.” Sam gritted.  
The aggravated spirit locked the car and forced it into drive then. Sam tried desperately to get it to stop or to steer it away from the road, but the wheel stubbornly followed the yellow lines. So instead Sam took this moment to check on his companion.  
“Cas. Cas!” he called patting his cheek and checking the bruise on his brow. “Cas, wake up. C’mon man, you got to wake up.”  
Nothing he did woke the boy up, and soon enough they were at the spirit’s old home. Sam only had one job right now, try to keep the ghost from hurting Cas further.  
“Don’t do this.” he told her, but all she did was flicker.  
“I can never go home.” she moaned.  
“You’re scared to go home?” Sam asked, looking over his shoulder only to find her gone.  
Next thing he knew he was being pinned under the woman as she tried to force her tongue down his throat though he fought it of course.  
“Sam…” Cas groaned, his eyes blinking blurrily.  
The small distraction was enough to break Sam’s focus and slip.  
She reared back and disappeared. Sam looked around not seeing her. He planned on going checking on Cas, but a searing pain in his chest had him crying out in pain.  
“SAM!” Cas cried as the woman appeared again on top of him. “Get away from him.”  
Before either one of them could do anything else, the window exploded with a rain of bullets, causing Cas and Sam to duck out of the line of fire. When it stopped, Cas jumped into action.  
“Sam, drive the car into the house.” Cas ordered. “Do it! Now!”  
With a determined glare, Sam put the car into drive and gunned it up the front porch.  
“Guys!” Dean cried.  
They crashed the car into the first wall and came to a complete stop. Both boys groaned at the pain but Sam’s concern for his brother grew all the more. Cas was barely staying awake.  
“Guys, are you alright?” Dean hollard as he came to the passenger side.  
“Dean, Cas is hurt.” Sam told him. “We need to get him out.”  
“Yeah, I got you, buddy, you’re going to be just fine.” Dean assured, pulling Cas from the car.  
Getting out they were faced with a very pissed off spirit who wasted no time in pinning them to the car with a dresser. In this position, they were helpless to her wrath. Both Sam and Dean gritted as they attempted to cover Cas who leaned heavily on the car. It all seemed hopeless.  
Yet it seemed the boys would be saved.  
“You’re children, have been waiting for you, Mrs. Welch.” Cas cough past the boys.  
The lights flickered and water began to trickle down the stairs catching Constance's attention. She looked up only to find her son and daughter looking down on her. The boys watched as they reappeared behind her, before latching on and dragging her through the floorboards with an agonized howl.  
With a grunt, they pushed the dresser away, and Dean was able to finally get a good look at the damage on Cas.  
“You okay?” he asked, whipping away some blood.  
“This is where she drowned the children.” Cas huffed. “If the spirits of the children are still on this plane then they will punish the woman in white.”  
“You found her weakness.” Sam smiled.  
"Nice work." Dean smirked. "You too, Sam."  
“Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you, what the hell were you thinking shooting Casper in the face you freak?”  
“Hey, saved your asses didn’t I?” Dean snarked looking past Cas to his car. “I’ll tell you another thing if you two screwed up my car. I’ll kill you.”  
“You’d rather I let the homicidal ghost kill our brother?” Cas snarked back. “Or myself.”  
“Shadup.” Dean huffed. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”  
Sam laughed at their antics, resting on the step as Dean got out the first aid kit.  
As soon as they were all patched up they were back on the road, Cas resting in the back while Sam checked the coordinates and Dean drove.  
“Alright, here it is.” Sam told them. “Blackwater Ridge Colorado. It’s about six hundred miles away.”  
“Alright, if we shag ass we could make it by morning.” Dean told him.  
“Dean,” Sam hesitated. “The interview is in like ten hours I’ve got to be there.”  
“And you will.” Cas grumbled from the back. “Right, Dean.”  
Dean glanced back in his review at his partner, catching the aggressively insistent blue eyes.  
“Yeah, alright.” Dean said, letting the road take them back to Paulo Santo.  
The drive was quiet, besides the random bursts of off-tune singing from Dean and a “Dean, please” from Cas.  
Then they were in front of Sam’s apartment.  
“Thanks.” Sam told them. “Call if you find anything out?”  
“Yeah.” Dean told him.  
Nodding, Sam got out and helped Cas to the front seat.  
“I’m fine.” Cas waved him off. “It's just a few bumps and cuts.”  
“Alright.” Sam snickered. “Take care of him alright.”  
“Take care of yourself.” Cas urged, giving the youngest Winchester a hug.  
“Yeah, that’s the plan.” Sam nodded.  
With an answering nod, Cas slumped into the front seat and closed the door.  
“Hey, Sam.” Dean called past Cas getting Sam to bend down so they were on eye level. “We made a hell of a team back there.”  
“Yeah, we did.” Sam agreed, cocking his head. “Maybe I can meet back up with you guys, once when you find him.”  
“Yeah maybe.” Dean nodded back.  
They made sure Sam was inside before Dean started the car back up and pulled out onto the road.  
“He’ll be okay.” Cas assured. “And we’ll find John.”  
“Yeah, I know.” Dean gruffed. “Just, I guess I was hoping he would stay with us. You know, head out on the road and hunt again. I lost him that night, and it just kind of felt like I finally got him back.”  
“I know what you mean.” Cas nodded. “I lost him that night too. But he’s okay. He’s more than okay. He’s got a girlfriend, scored amazingly on the SATs so we know he's' doing well in school. On top of that, he is most likely getting into Law School. He’s safe and he’s okay. That’s all we can ask.”  
“I can’t help but worry. He’s my little brother.”  
“And you think I don’t feel the same?”  
“Of course not, I didn’t mean-”  
“I know Dean.”  
“No, listen. You are our brother, always have been. My dad’s opinion will never change that. You’re our brother.”  
Cas smiled at that, taking the moment to pat Dean on the shoulder getting a weird look from him. Laughing at that, Cas looked over his shoulder to catch a last glimpse of the apartment as if he was seeing Sam one last time. But his eyes widened in horror, as he saw the building glowing in with red and orange.  
“Dean, go back! Sam needs us!”

**Author's Note:**

> So let me know what you think. Once again I'm using the kudos/favorites and comments to determine which one to work on first and then on.  
> Your feedback really helps me.  
> Thank you so much for reading this, I hope you liked it.  
> See you in the next story.


End file.
